Good Day Mates from Down Under

Okay, so we left Fiji after some relaxation and soaking up the south Pacific sun. It was just what we needed. Thanks again to everyone’s well wishes and the send off, from the surprise party to the airport and through the emails.

So we were up at the crack of dawn on the 14th to take an hour and a half cab ride from the bungalow to the airport in Nadi. We had befriended this Indian–Fijian cab driver and he and his wife took us to the airport this morning. Along the way we found out some more interesting things about Fiji including the fact that the Indian population is quite big here in Fiji, as they were brought over by the British during the Colonization of Fiji. The Indians were brought over to work on the sugar plantations which were the source of their major exporting goods until recently where tourism has taken over. Ali, the cab driver also mentioned that as a citizen of Fiji but being non indigenous, they are not allowed to own land here in Fiji and this is a definite sore spot.

All in all we had found the Fijian people to be extremely friendly and helpful as most of the people we had met along the way (usually on the bus or taxi) were very gracious and friendly. But now that we are on our way to Australia, we can not help but be a little anxious to see a good friend of mine in Melbourne, Pam.

So the flight to Melbourne via Auckland was amazing, the best service we had thus far. There was even a menu on the plane for the dinner(s) that night that we could choose from. Definitely Chunger style cooking. The flight was great, the entertainment was awesome as we each had our own video screens to watch over 150 movies and some very recent. Since our plane was delayed, we were able to squeeze in two movies, dinner and some cocktails (a new meaning to dinner and a movie date – some of you may want to try this in the future).

As we landed in Melbourne, we were greeted with Australian customs that checked through all of our bags. A little nerve racking, but nothing out of the ordinary. So we met Pam who was to be our gracious host for our visit to Melbourne, Australia.

Pam is an old friend of mine from my days back in Totem Park at UBC. She was one of the many women that have helped to make me who I am today. She has taught me a great deal about friendship and despite the fact that she has been going to school and living in Melbourne now for well over a decade; our friendship is still as close as the day she left for Australia.

Pam lives in Coburg, a quiet little suburb about 20 min by train from the city center with her two boyfriends (Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie). We spent the first evening catching up with Pam and talking about our lives and mutual friends from the past.

The next day on the 15th, we decided to take the morning off to catch up on our emails to everyone at home and work on the web site as it was our first real attempt at uploading photos and writing to our loved ones at home. The remainder of the day was spent wandering around Coburg, grocery shopping and having a nice dinner with Pam and my girl - the best way to spend my 34th birthday. Thanks to all who sent me an email to wish me a happy birthday even while we're abroad, it meant a lot.

The site seeing and touristy stuff will be forth coming and the architecture….oh, the architecture…. I will be posting a section on the architecture alone….stay tuned….

Miss and love all of you…

Here are a few photos of Pam and her home.

Our Gracious Host - Pam

Dinner on Lygon Street - Italian District

Chris' New Best Friend

Outcome of Chris' New Friendship!!

Pam's Backyard - Where we Enjoyed Many a Beers and Great Dinners

Some Things Just Don't Change - Good Times

Pammy and Ravy

Boyfriend #1 - Cuddle Pie

Boyfriend #2 - Snuggle Pot

Our Last Day In Fiji

Our last day in Fiji was a very relaxing one where we lounged around and enjoyed the comforts of our bungalow and pool, went horseback riding on the beach and enjoyed the ocean one last time.






Ali, Our Horse Guide

Tomorrow morning on the 14th, we're off bright and early to catch our 10am flight to our next desination better known as the "Down Under" - Australia. We are headed into Melbourne to meet up with one of Chris' good university mates, Pam.

Goodbye Fiji, Hello Australia!! :)

Who Wouldn't Want to Go to Fiji??

Our Beach

Having Fun in the Ocean

Beautiful Scenery

Our Bungalow in Fiji

Good Ol' 52% Rum,We Kid you Not

View from Outrigger Reef Resort

Walks on the Beach

Come on in, the water is WARM!!

Capital City Not So Capital!

We made a visit to the capital city of Fiji, Suva, on the 12th to explore what we thought would be a bustling and energetic city with lots to see as most capital cities are.

On the contrary, both Chris and I found Suva to be a bit of a disappointment. It was pretty boring, rather dirty and there was nothing really major to offer in the city except for a handicraft market, some small shops and a large park. We didn’t see any large buildings that defined the city or large museums or galleries of any kind either. It was rather laid back and not the normal hustle bustle you would associate with a capital city.

We spent some time walking through the quite large handicraft market where my “bargaining” skills had to be put to the test. Each vendor had a small 3 by 10 foot area and as you walked by they would all call you in and tell you to come in to just take a look. Once inside, it was pretty much impossible to get out. Anything you would touch or even glance at for a millisecond would be considered something you wanted and the prices would start to be called out. It was very similar to my trip in India although I found they are not as aggressive in Fiji as they were in India. At the end of the day, if you offered them a price they were not happy with and walked out, they let you walk away and did not call you back. For me, it was very hard to not want to buy lots of souvenirs as there were many beautiful things that I found in the market. I was reminded by Chris (the more level headed one when it comes to shopping) that we do have to carry everything we buy and there would be more souvenir shopping in all of the other countries we would be traveling to. Some of the Fijian items that impressed me the most would have to be some of the jewelry pieces, hand woven hand bags and beautifully carved statues and bowls.

The best part of our day in Suva was our time spent in the produce market. The fruit/vegetable markets in Fiji are AWESOME. You walk into these warehouses and there are rows and rows of tables with different folks selling different fruits and vegetables at prices you would never and could never find in Canada. A small plate of red peppers (around 30 I’d say) for $1, 6 papayas for $1, bag of carrots for $2. This day reminds us of an Indian man who was so kind to both Chris and I. We had wanted to make coconut curry that night at our bungalow and needed some Indian spices. At the market, this one Fijian man was selling spices but by the kilo and Chris and I literally needed one tbsp each of three spices. The man couldn’t stop laughing as he wasn’t sure how he was going to measure just one tbsp. In the end, he decided to just give it to us for free. Although this may not sound like a lot, Chris and I were very thankful and were amazed at his generosity. So although the city Suva itself wasn’t that appealing to us, our trip to the city revealed to us how friendly and generous the Fijian people really are and reminded us that although the Fijian people live a tough life and barely get by money wise, they put others before themselves in acts of kindness. In a city so full of poverty, its hard to believe the poor can be so happy helping others before themselves.

Streets of Suva

Streets of Suva

Catholic Church

Entrance to Market

Extreme Generosity

Inspired by Kam, Recreated by Chris

For those of you who were lucky enough to be a part of the "rowboat incident" in Union Bay last year, will know exactly what is so funny about this picture and how the caption fits it to a tee. No further explanation needed.

Hope everyone is doing well and the rain has stopped in Vancouver.

Miss everyone and thinking of you all....

A Traditional Fijian Feast

Today we were lucky enough to experience a real Fijian feast and how the local Fijians in a village live their day to day lives.



We visited Malevu Village, a very small village close to our bungalows for a traditional lovo ceremony. A lovo ceremony is where food is wrapped and cooked under native leaves and burlap and buried in the ground with hot stones for special occasions such as the visiting of a chief to his village or for out of country visitors.



Upon our arrival to the village we were greeted by running and excited Fijian children who quickly placed two leis around our necks and before we could say thank you for their graciousness, they blurted out “$2 for the lei”, “$2 for each lei”. Little did we know they would charge us but to see how excited the kids were at getting $2 to buy some goodies from the local candy store was enough reason to give them the money.



The spokesman for the village then took us around the village and told us some key facts about the Fijian culture:
- There are 14 provinces in Fiji each having their own chief
- Each village is specialized in one trait such as fire walking, fishing, carving, turtle calling, cannibalism, etc
- Majority of Fijians are Catholics
- There are 14 dialects in Fiji
- All land in Fiji is owned by natives and are leased to other Fijian citizens or foreigners
- Majority of the villages are along the coast of Vitu Levu consisting of roughly 20-300 individuals
- Most villagers work at hotel resorts, or as civil servants in the major cities or stay in the village to work
- There is a true sense of community where everyone lends a helping hand in the village from building homes, cultivating gardens to taking care of all children which is why there is never a closed door at any home within a village

After the food was removed from the hearth, it was to be prepared for the visitors to enjoy after the traditional kava ceremony which consisted of a ceremony to prepare the national drink of Fiji: Kava. Kava is made from the root of a pepper plant which matures in 5-7 years at which time it is sun dried and then ground up into a powder. The Kava powder is then mixed with water in a large ceremonial bowl using cheesecloth and is given to the head guest or chief first to drink. When drinking kava the ritual is to clap your hands once and say 'Bula' (hello in Fijian) before accepting the bowl with two hands, the drink is to then be consumed in one gulp before returning the bowl and then clapping your hands three times and saying 'Vinaka' (thank you in Fijian). Suffice to say, Kava was NOT our cup of tea. Not only did it make our tongues feel furry, it had a strange grainy texture and chalky flavor to it but out of respect, we had to suck it up and drink that stuff back, not once, but TWICE!! Fijians believe that Kava has medicinal values and has recently been a cash crop for the country.





By this time, dinner from the lovo ceremony was ready to be served. There was plenty of food which included fish, chicken, pork, spinach, sweet potatoes, taro, tapioca and various fruits and vegetables. We ate Fijian style: sitting on the floor with no cutlery and on top of that, Fijians have their guests eat first and do not help themselves until after the guests have eaten and left. This was awkward for us as everyone was pretty much sitting in front of us while we were eating. We felt kind of bad and kept telling them to go ahead and eat as they were so gracious to keep telling us to go back for seconds and thirds and fourths but they insisted they would not eat until after we were finished with the food. The food was plentiful but we found the meat was a bit bland and tasteless.



By the time dinner was done, it was time for entertainment. We were serenaded, guitars were played and the children then started to sing and dance. For us, this was probably the most rewarding part of the evening. To see all of the little kids get excited at wanting to dance and wanting us to participate in their culture was so wonderful and just shows how in Fiji, little things can go a long way.





We ended the evening with a stroll back to our bungalows escorted by one of the villagers who kept freaking us out. Not only did he have broken feet and walked bare foot on the road, he kept looking at Rav kind of funny and kept grossing us out. Suffice to say Rav was scared shitless on the walk home.

We were glad to be back at our bungalow, safe and sound but were very grateful to have been able to experience a bit of the Fijian culture and participate in such a ceremonial evening.

Back to doing nothing tomorrow…thank god!!

Cheers everyone...

Heading to the Office, FIJIAN STYLE!!

After leaving our friends and family at the Vancouver Airport on Jan 6th, we arrived safe and sound in Fiji at 5:20am on the 8th just as the sun was beginning to rise. We were greeted at the airport by three singing Fijian men which was a pleasant surprise. After getting our bags and buying some HARD CORE Bounty Fijian Rum from duty free (will explain later), we were ‘attacked’ by numerous taxi and bus drivers and hotel representatives asking us where we were going, where we were staying and how we were planning on getting there. It was a bit overwhelming but we made our way through the mayhem and were able to get into a travel agency where we booked a bus for $6.50 CDN per person to Tubakula Beach Bungalows compared to the $48 we were being offered by taxis and other buses.

Tubakula is on the Coral Coast of Fiji on the main island of Vitu Levu between Nadi (Airport) and Suva (Capital City). We booked a poolside bungalow for $63 CDN per night. The bungalows in Lonely Planet were listed as budget accommodations but we were more than happy with what we received. The bungalows were in great condition, with the minor exception of the fridge which we had to change three times. They were very spacious with a mezzanine level with a fully functional kitchen, enough room to sleep at least 5, and only a few steps away from the beach and ocean.



Our first day consisted of us RELAXING and doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, hard to believe but we managed to do it somehow. We lounged by the pool, took a few naps, watched the sunset on the beach and went to bed at 9:30pm!!! Yes, you read right, 9:30pm…it was heaven and the best sleep we have had in a very long while.

The next day we headed into Sigatoka, a small nearby town to do some souvenir shopping and sightseeing. The town was extremely small with few shops, restaurants and one large produce market where veggies and fruit were extremely cheap compared to back home. We were hoping to taste the Fijian cuisine in town as the restaurant at our hotel did not offer any but as we found in many places in Fiji, it is very hard to find authentic Fijian food unless you visit a village which we intend to do tomorrow evening at a traditional lovo ceremony.

Until then…..

We're Almost on Our Way....

Happy happy, joy joy!!
We are leaving work and going to live life..
Enjoy the adventures with us by periodically checking this website for updates. We look forward to hearing from all of you. Direct emails can be sent to us at chris-rav-abroad@hotmail.com.

We love you all and can't wait to share our life experiences with each and every one of you. :)